Shotcrete

Shotcrete — concrete placed pneumatically at high velocity — is how new shear walls go into existing buildings. It bonds to prepared existing concrete and masonry, works in the tight interiors where formed concrete can't, and when properly shot and cured it meets or exceeds the strength of cast-in-place. It is also unforgiving: nozzle technique, mix control, and reinforcement encasement separate a wall that performs in an earthquake from one that only looks like it will.

Lehigh Construction self-performs shotcrete with our own nozzlemen and crews — we do not broker the trade out. Our shotcrete record spans hotel wall-strengthening programs (the Regent Beverly Wilshire, Santa Fe Lofts), high-rise seismic upgrades across Downtown Los Angeles, and hundreds of thousands of square feet of shear wall in occupied, operating buildings.

We shoot to the engineer's design and the special inspector's satisfaction: mockups and test panels where specified, cores that verify, and sequencing that respects both the structure and the tenants working around it.